Digitising Museums is a Waste of Money, Says V&A Boss

The new head of London's glorious V&A museum looks like he's about to bin spending on digitising collections and creating apps, audio tours and other digital content, as he thinks the average museum punter isn't interested in any of it and would rather these places stay as unique non-digital quiet spaces.

That's according to Tristram Hunt, the former MP who's now in charge of the V&A and its replica Michelangelo. He was speaking to like-minded art enthusiasts at the Hay festival, where he said the "initial exuberance" that saw the huge museums record their content and put it online is fading, with establishments that have gone down this route starting to think it's a massive money pit with little benefit.

"There’s a sense of people often coming into the museum to get away from digital activities," he added, saying that the V&A's own app and digital offerings haven't been particularly well used. [The Times]